For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, "Peace be within you." Sermons I. THE PATRIOTIC SPIRIT IS KIN WITH THE RELIGIOUS. The moral value of both is the same, and it lies in taking a man out beyond himself, and interesting him in something other than himself. The patriotic spirit interests him in other people, the religious spirit interests him in God. They are also alike in their power to arouse and culture emotion, and to inspire self-denying acts. II. THE PATRIOTIC SPIRIT NOURISHES THE RELIGIOUS. According to the principle laid down by St. John, "If a man love not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" It is a delusion that religion claims isolation; it is both expressed and nourished through the temporal. Religion separated from life and its common claims and obligations is but weak and deluding sentiment. Patriotic Moses is pious Moses. The separation of Christian men from political, civil, and social interests is entirely a sectarian delusion. The noblest and the healthiest Christian lives have always been, and are always sure to be, in the truest sense patriotic. III. THE PATRIOTIC SPIRIT QUALIFIES THE RELIGIOUS. For while it is quite true that man is not all body and human relations, it is also quite true that he is not all soul and soul-relations. The religious side of man's nature can be exaggerated, and often is. The unworldly may become a snare as well as the worldly. It is helpful to qualify the heavenly by the duties of the earthly. - R.T.
Peace be within thy walls. The leading elements which constitute a prosperous Church are —I. PURITY OF DOCTRINE. It is fashionable to sneer at doctrine, to talk flippantly about "gnawing at the dry bones of doctrine," to endorse the sentiment of the poet who would hand over doctrine to bigots to fight about and would be satisfied with "the right life." There is a fallacy here. How can we tell what the right life is if we do not learn it from doctrine? As believers in the fact of a revelation, and that the Bible contains that revelation, we maintain that the man "whose life is in the right" is a man who knows what the doctrine of God's Word is concerning right living. II. SPIRITUALITY. True religion is a life as well as a belief, a life founded upon a belief, but always a life. That life is produced by the Holy Spirit, who takes the things which are Christ's, and shows them unto us. True religion has to do with the spirit of man. It cleanses the fountain, and the streams which issue therefrom are pure. The man who has spirituality is a man of religious principle. He is the same whatever he does and wherever he goes. He is the same in politics as in ecclesiastics. He is a Christian in buying and in selling, a Christian at home and abroad, on land and on sea. III. BROTHERLY LOVE. The Church is a family, the Head of which is Christ. The same spirit that is found in the Head is also found in the members of the family. Now, just as the members of a family love one another because of their blood-tie — relationship — so the members of the household of faith should recognize and exemplify their oneness in Christ. A minister was once asked what he thought of the doctrine of the mutual recognition of the saints in heaven. He replied, "I am much more concerned about the duty of my people to recognize one another here upon earth." The reply was caustic, but perhaps it was needed. Christians should love one another. They have the same Saviour and the same Spirit, and they travel the same journey. Alike they have encouragements and discouragements, conflicts and victories, duties and trials, and at last they shall be received into one everlasting home. IV. EARNEST WORK. By exercise muscle is developed and the whole system is maintained in a state of vigour. Persons engaged in mental or sedentary employments cannot with impunity disregard this law of health. Just so is it in the domain of the spiritual. Exercise is necessary for spiritual development and spiritual strength. Here is another view: God has made Christian work imperative. He is pleased to employ His people in saying to them, "Go, work in My vineyard." As among them there is a great variety of talent, so in the vineyard there are many kinds of work. Every gift, no matter how humble, can find a field for exercise. (John Currie, D. D.) People David, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Brethren, Brothers, Companions, Friends, Peace, Sake, Sakes, Speak, WithinOutline 1. David professes his joy for the church6. And prays for the peace thereof Dictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 122:1-9Library August the Eighteenth the Church of the Firstborn"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem." --PSALM cxxii. And my Jerusalem is "the church of the living God." Do I carry her on my heart? Do I praise God for her heritage, and for her endowment of spiritual glory? And do I remember her perils, especially those parts of her walls where the defences are very thin, and can be easily broken through? Yes, has my Church any place in my prayer, or am I robbing her of part of her intended possessions? And is the entire Jerusalem the subject of my supplication? … John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year Religious Patriotism. For the Peace and Prosperity of the Church. --Ps. cxxii. Ps. cxxii. 7-9. O 'twas a Joyful Sound to Hear Of Four Things which Bring Great Peace Beginning at Jerusalem There is a Blessedness in Reversion Psalms Links Psalm 122:8 NIVPsalm 122:8 NLT Psalm 122:8 ESV Psalm 122:8 NASB Psalm 122:8 KJV Psalm 122:8 Bible Apps Psalm 122:8 Parallel Psalm 122:8 Biblia Paralela Psalm 122:8 Chinese Bible Psalm 122:8 French Bible Psalm 122:8 German Bible Psalm 122:8 Commentaries Bible Hub |
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